Chapter 404: Red Rouge (23)

"Hello!"

"Oh, you’re here!"

As we stepped into the empty room next to the practice room where

Pick We Up Two

was being filmed, Director Lee Won-Jae was monitoring the practice room. He greeted us warmly. It had been a long time since I'd seen his face, which still bore a very business-like smile.

"How have you been? I've been enjoying your music."

"Thank you, Director," Joo-Han said. "Here, this is our new song. Please have a listen."

"Oh, thank you." Lee Won-Jae took the "Red Rouge" CD handed to him. He didn’t even pretend to look at it, and placed it on top of his pile of documents. His demeanor was unchanged, but he was much more cordial and friendly than during the previous

Pick We Up

.

"I’ll make sure to give you plenty of screen time, so guide the kids well. Oh, you can go in now."

"Okay."

"The trainees are in the next room. There are more of them than you might expect, so don't be too surprised."

"Yes. Thank you."

We greeted Lee Won-Jae and the production staff before heading to the practice room next door. The practice room had opaque glass walls, and it was visibly crowded with trainees, their staff, the production crew, and cameras. It created an intimidating atmosphere.

Before entering the practice room, Joo-Han turned to us, especially to Jin-Sung, and advised, "You know we have an event scheduled after today's filming, right? Don't exhaust yourself here, especially you, Jin-Sung. Manage your energy well."

"Of course! I was planning to do just that!"

"Okay. Don't try to overhaul the participants too much. Just give the necessary feedback and don’t overdo it. Got it?"

"Yes!"

Joo-Han opened the door to the practice room. As soon as he took a step inside, we heard the excited murmurs of the trainees.

"Wow, it's really the seniors..."

"Wow..."

"Hello."

As we greeted and made our way through the production staff and cameras, the trainees clapped and cheered as if they had been waiting for us. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at us.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

‘I've seen those eyes somewhere before.'

I realized that they were similar to the looks we received from Sequence members and the Rings. We stood in a line in front of them.

"Hello, we are Chronos."

"Waaah!!!"

We gave a brief greeting and sat down on the prepared chairs. Since everyone was focused on us, the pressure started to ramp up. After the excited commotion among the trainees was subdued by the production staff, Joo-Han said, "I’m a bit surprised by such a lively welcome. Anyway, nice to meet you all. We are Chronos, your mentors for the day."

"Yay!!!!"

"We just met, so we barely know much about each other. But since our time is limited, we will save the conversation for later. For now, we'd like to see what you've been practicing."

"Do you have something prepared for us?" Goh Yoo-Joon asked.

The trainees answered enthusiastically, "Yes!"

Joo-Han nodded and stood up from his chair. "Then let's take a look. Please come out group by group and show us what you got."

We moved our chairs aside and sat on the floor of the practice room. Watching them dance from the floor would be less burdensome for both sides than sitting on chairs.

As we sat on the floor, the trainees quickly got up and moved to the corner of the practice room. This left only one group in front of us, seemingly ready to go first. They were energetic.

"Greetings! You Are Beautiful! We are Hyacinth!"

"Oh."

Yoon-Chan sighed softly so he would not be heard. It was understandable. Their group name was quite something...

"Pleased to meet you!"

Regardless, Hyacinth politely introduced themselves and continued to introduce their members. We listened to their introductions and then had them start their dance.

The song they chose was "Moon Sea" by Allure, which was a song we had performed on

Pick We Up

. I had heard that this song often got picked in auditions and monthly evaluations for trainees, but I didn't expect to encounter it here.

The expressions of our members, who had been watching Hyacinth with amusement, changed. The faces of Hyacinth members also showed signs of tension. Performing in front of the group that the original singers praised must have been a great burden.

"We will start now!"

"Go ahead."

The music started playing, and Hyacinth began their choreography. Unlike how I started lying on the bed alone, Hyacinth began with a group dance from the start. Their arrangement also conveyed a darker atmosphere, using xylophone sounds for the instrumental. They moved like marionettes.

It was a good start, very impressive actually. Overall, the members danced well. They seemed to have put a lot of effort into the beginning as the choreography continued for quite a while without vocals. Still, their excellent dancing and the unique eerie atmosphere they created left no room for boredom.

And finally, it was time to sing. However, the atmosphere shattered as soon as they opened their mouths.

'What the heck is this?'

They had built up the mood well with the dance, but the singing was so plain...

At first, I thought this was a mistake on their part and let it go. But even throughout the second and third parts of the song, the voices of the contestants didn't match the eerie atmosphere at all. They weren't singing badly, but they couldn't convey the proper mood. Without the instrumental, you wouldn't know if it was a lively song or a spooky song. They were just singing mechanically, like robots.

At this point, both my expression and Goh Yoo-Joon's stiffened. The dancing was impeccable, but umm... I just didn’t know how to explain this in words.

Hyacinth's performance ended, and we clapped out of courtesy. The rookies noticed our stiff expressions and stood nervously with their hands together. I hadn't planned to give harsh or hurtful feedback, but I felt compelled to since I was here.

Joo-Han broke the silence. "First of all, we enjoyed it. The arrangement was great, and your dancing skills were excellent. The intro was especially good. It drew us in and made us focus."

"Thank you!!!"

The Hyacinth members energetically shouted in unison, but then they quickly glanced at me and Goh Yoo-Joon. It seemed like they were expecting to get scolded. Goh Yoo-Joon nudged my arm, signaling for me to speak first. I didn't plan to be too harsh because it was not my style to be overly critical with people I didn't know well, especially when they were trying their best.

"Yes, we really enjoyed watching your performance. As Joo-Han hyung mentioned, your dancing was absolutely fantastic. As you might know, I am the main vocalist of Chronos, so I focus more on the vocals while this guy—" I pointed to Jin-Sung. "He knows more about dancing. From my perspective, it might be better to increase the immersion in the vocals a bit more."

The member who had the first part in "Moon Sea" looked nervous and bit his lips anxiously.

"I was really impressed by the choreography and the arrangement.

Wow, you guys are really amazing,

is what I thought to myself

.

But it felt like the atmosphere you built up so well with the intro fell apart as soon as you started singing."

"Ah..."

"I’m not talking about only the first part. Although the first part is the most important, it seemed like all the members didn't focus as much on the vocals as they did on the dance. If we turned off the accompaniment and just listened to the vocals, we wouldn't get the vibe of the song at all."

The expressions of the Hyacinth members were mixed. Some looked shocked by the unexpected critique, while others seemed to have been aware of it, but hadn't managed to fix it. Goh Yoo-Joon, who had been frowning beside me, added to my critique.

"I agree with Hyun-Woo. I think he is being kind, but to put it bluntly, it feels like you didn't study the song enough."

The member who introduced himself as the main vocalist of Hyacinth eventually lowered his head.

"You chose a difficult song and made it even harder with the arrangement. That means you should have done more research."

It had been a long time since I had seen Goh Yoo-Joon so serious. He probably wasn't angry, but his naturally sharp expression might make the trainees think otherwise.

"You need to interpret the song and record your voices several times to see what kind of voice makes the listeners fully immersed."

"Yes..."

"I understand that this is a competition and you have a lot to prepare in a short time, but just because your group is good at synchronized dancing, you shouldn't neglect the vocals part."

Goh Yoo-Joon and our members had always prioritized vocals, so seeing a group that neglected them must have been disappointing for him. The Hyacinth members looked quite deflated. They fiddled with their hands, deep in thought.

I glanced at Jin-Sung and signaled if we should wrap it up. Jin-Sung didn't seem to have any feedback on the dance, so he nodded immediately. I quickly concluded the feedback.

"But the choreography was really top-notch."

"Yeah! It seemed like you were even better than us." Jin-Sung gave a thumbs-up.

"Thank you!"

Although the Hyacinth members looked a bit down, they greeted us loudly as before and cleared the middle of the practice room.

Joo-Han asked. "Which group is next?"

"We are!"

The trainees who had been hiding in the corner with fearful expressions quickly stood up and moved to the center of the practice room. I didn't think our feedback was particularly harsh.

Looking at the trainees lining up, they seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen years old on average. They appeared very young and gentle, clearly looking fragile and easily frightened.

Seeing them reminded me of when we first started. The nerves, the excitement, the fear of messing up—it was all too familiar. I hoped that our feedback, while critical, would help them grow and improve. We had been in their shoes once, and we understood the pressure they were under.

As the next group got ready, I took a moment to glance around the room. The atmosphere was tense, but there was also a buzz of anticipation. Each trainee here was eager to prove themselves, to show what they had been working so hard on. It was inspiring to see such dedication.